Mies van der Rohe - Crown Hall, Chicago

His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strove toward an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of unobstructed free-flowing open space. He sought an objective approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design, but was always concerned with expressing the spirit of the modern era.

The enclosed space is column free with four six ft. steel plate girders welded to eight H-columns. These girders suspend the roof in a single plane to form a primary structure.

Mies van der Rohe created a new twentieth-century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity.

Crown Hall completed in 1956, is one of the most architecturally significant buildings of the 20th century Modernist movement. Crown Hall is considered architecturally significant because Mies van der Rohe refined the basic steel and glass construction style, beautifully capturing simplicity and openness.

While designing Crown Hall, Mies stayed true to his famous words, "less is more" and he considered the building to be the best embodiment of that maxim.

The two-level building is configured as a pure rectangular form, 220 ft. by 120 ft. by 18 ft. tall.

While the lower level consists of compartmentalized rooms, the upper level occupies almost 50% of the total area of the building, but only includes one large, open classroom